


Transparency

by veroreos



Series: Broken Bonds [1]
Category: League of Legends
Genre: Childhood Memories, Friendship, M/M, Minor Character Death, Minor Violence, Rivalry, Zed being a huge dick
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-10
Updated: 2016-03-13
Packaged: 2018-04-03 18:55:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,233
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4111441
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/veroreos/pseuds/veroreos
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>They knew each other too well, yet at the same time, not at all, really.<br/>Perhaps if they had, one of them would have seen this coming.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. out of sight, out of mind

**Author's Note:**

> Lots of ideas on Zed and Shen, plus the Kinkou Trio in general and a lot of dynamics between all four of them. Some childhood reflection, and then, eventually, some moving forward.

 “Are the catches better up here?”

Shen involuntarily jumped, surprised by the boy behind him, and ducked his head down as his cheeks turned red and the other boy laughed. “I don’t know,” he answered honestly, trying to keep his attention on the line. “But it’s quieter here. Easier to focus.”

The sound of children laughing and playing was faint to their ears, the other students of the order gathered near the bottom of the river. Though many older disciples used fishing as an exercise in patience and meditation, the kids quickly turned to playing with each other, bored with the tedious practice.

The boy sat down next to Shen, and with a careful flick, cast his line. Shen glanced to him out of the corner of his eyes. “Aren’t you interested in playing with the others?”

“Aren’t you?” Shen frowned, and the other met him with a small grin. “If you’re training, then I’m training too.”

 _You don’t have to though_ , he almost said before biting his tongue. Shen would be reprimanded by the master if he neglected his training, but nobody else was held to quite the same standard. The other children were allowed to play in the river instead of focusing on the day’s exercise. Shen simply was not.

“Does it bother you that I’m sitting here?” He was baiting Shen. A game of cat and mouse they were both too familiar with for how little time they had actually known each other. Shen kept his attention on his line.

“It doesn’t.”

“Does it bother you that I’m training with you?”

“Not at all.”

“Would you rather be playing with everyone else?”

A pause. “I wouldn’t.”

“You’re bad at lying, Shen.”

Shen’s grip tightened on the pole as he whipped around to face the boy next to him. “Zed, if the only reason you’re here is to try to taunt me--”

“Fine, fine,” the boy quickly responded, turning his attention back to his own line and shutting down the conversation. Shen looked away, but felt his cheeks burning again. Though Zed didn’t say it, he’d won. Succeeded in digging under Shen’s skin again.

Though for all other purposes they were always on the same level--every duel a draw, every exercise completed alongside each other very nearly in perfect sync--Shen tried hard to stay neutral, while Zed relentlessly pushed his buttons. No matter how hard Shen tried to push down his emotions Zed always found a way to drag them back up. Even now, as Zed had already moved on and now seemed entirely focused on fishing, Shen was still seething, frustrated both by Zed’s presence and by the fact that he let Zed get to him in the first place.

So preoccupied with his own irritation, in fact, that when something pulled hard on his line, he started to fall forward. “Oh--!”

Hands grabbed his sides and yanked him back. “Shen, pull!” While Zed held him in place, Shen started reeling the line. The pole bowed and Shen held on tight, feeling the wood dig into his hands.

“The pole’s gonna...” Zed rose, dragging Shen up with him. They both planted their feet firmly on the ground, Zed reaching around to put his hands over Shen’s.

“On the count of three, okay?” Shen nodded, gritting his teeth as there was another hard tug on the line. “One…two…” Both of their holds tightened. Their shoulders straightened, their teeth clenched, and together, they took a deep breath.

“Three!”

Just as they pulled, the line abruptly went slack and they were both sent careening backwards. Shen landed on top of Zed and Zed gave a noise of protest as the boy’s elbow collided with his nose. Any attempt to shove Shen off was ignored, however, as Shen sat up just enough to check the line. “What--?”

“Shen, get off!”

“It got away!”

Zed pushed Shen and Shen let himself be rolled off the other boy, landing on his side in the grass. He gawked at the line while Zed looked in disbelief at the pole and river. “All that and it got away? It must have been huge! Did you get a look at how big it was? I bet it must’ve been a foot--no, at least two feet long!”

“If we’d pulled sooner, we probably would’ve caught it,” Shen mumbled, mostly to himself. His eyes scanned the river for any sign of what they’d just been fighting with, but to no avail.

Zed had already turned his attention away from the river and the line. “All the fish the older disciples bring back are small, maybe a foot at best, but there was no way whatever that was was that small! There must be something huge living in the river!” He turned to Shen, a glimmer in his eyes. “Maybe it’s some kind of fantastic beast? An ancient spirit, maybe?”

Shen stared blankly back at the other boy. “...It’s...probably just a big fish.” Zed groaned, shaking his head as Shen sat up. “If there was anything other than fish in this river, don’t you think the order would know about it by now? Surely there’d be legends about it if there was really something amazing in there.”

“Come on Shen, they don’t know everything.” Zed’s eyes met Shen’s. “And even if they did, I’m sure there’s things they don’t tell us.”

Blue eyes flicked away, back to the gentle flow of the river. “If they don’t tell us, then we aren’t meant to know.” There was a bark of laughter from Zed and a shiver down Shen’s spine.

“There’s more out there than just the old ways, Shen.”

Shen couldn’t bring himself to face the other boy, but heard him stand up and saw his shadow looming over him.

“Turning your back on them won’t make them go away.”

 

  
  


“ _ **SHEN!**_ ”

At the sound of Kennen’s voice, Shen whipped around, his blades meeting Zed’s and narrowly preventing a swift decapitation. The sound of Zed’s laughter through his mask brought back a familiar chill.

“You should have let it end there, Shen. Don’t worry, you’ll join your foolish father in the afterlife soon enough!”

A flash of lightning forced both Shen and Zed to back away from each other, and in an instant Kennen was between them. He briefly glanced over his shoulder to Shen. “Shen...no, Master--are you alright?”

Shen’s throat went dry and he couldn’t respond. His eyes were still locked with Zed’s, and though he knew he was unreadable to anyone else, Zed knew exactly what was going through his mind.

“He is no master. He never really wanted to be. Did you, Shen?”

A pause. Try as he might, no words would come out.

“You’ve always been a bad liar, Shen.”

Kennen threw a kunai, and just as Zed dodged another blade narrowly missed his side. In a puff of shadows he was gone, Akali standing behind where he had been. “Shen, we’ve got to get out of here right now. There’s no way we can take them, we’ve been fighting off everyone we can but they just keep coming--”

“What about the children? And the elders?” The yordle tried to mask the fear in his voice but to no avail. Akali simply looked away before shaking her head. Kennen took a deep breath, looking to his leader. “Shen...what are we going to do?”

He looked to the two before him, clenching his fists around his blades tighter to conceal the fact that he was trembling. “Save everyone we can. Akali, do what you can to hold off the forces while we evacuate everyone who needs help. Kennen, lead the way--it doesn’t matter where we go, so long as we get out and away from here.”

Akali nodded, quickly bowing before disappearing. Kennen moved to leave but paused, glancing back to Shen one more time. “Are you--?”

“I’m fine,” Shen responded, too quickly to be believable. “Focus on the task ahead. We’ll discuss later what needs to be done.”

He seemed hesitant to leave, but pressed for time, Kennen nodded and bowed, before himself disappearing as well.

Shen turned to the burning temple, watching the smoke rise and the smell of ash filling his nostrils. One deep breath later, Shen vanished.

He never wondered until now what was in the river.

  
  
  


 

 


	2. sun & moon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shen was Kennen's first friend at the Kinkou Order.

“This is Shen, the Master’s son.”

Shen bowed to the yordle before him, and Kennen did his best to bow back just as politely. Being respectful wasn’t something he was really used to doing, and he had no idea how he was supposed to handle meeting the Master’s son--heck, he wasn’t really sure what it meant to have a master. But everyone was being very kind to him so Kennen did his best to be kind back.

Being new to the Order, they were introducing Kennen to all the children first. The elders would come later, but for now, they wanted him to meet all the people he would be growing up with from now on. Kennen was surprised to see that most of them were carefree and energetic, much like himself. He’d expected everyone, young and old, to be some kind of wisened guru out in the mountains. Yet here they were, innocent kids, just like him.

Save for Shen. Shen was another matter entirely.

The moment those blue eyes met his own, Kennen knew Shen was cut from a completely different cloth. He couldn’t have been older than 12, yet he looked just as composed as the adults who had been leading Kennen around. There wasn’t the same joy and enthusiasm in those eyes, and his expression was more like a stone wall than a child’s.

Even now his gaze was overpowering. Kennen tried to meet his eyes again, but found himself looking away. The adults around them were saying something, but it went ignored when the gentle lull of Shen’s voice caught Kennen’s attention. “Is it true what they say?”

“Huh?” Kennen blinked and forced his eyes back up to Shen’s. The boy’s gaze was still unwavering, but something about his voice was comforting. “I don’t know--what do they say?”

Shen bit his lip for a moment, clearly wrestling with some kind of inner decision, before quickly spitting it out. “Is it true that you ran up the huge wall in Bandle City?”

The adults all paused their talk when Kennen’s eyes lit up. “Oh! You mean the outer wall of the Placidium!” The dark hair boy beamed as Kennen laughed, nodding eagerly. “It was just--it sounds so stupid saying it now, but it was just a dare, and so, I mean, I figured I could run straight up it, so I did--”

“You ran straight up that huge wall?!”

“Yeah! It was really easy once I got going!”

Neither of the children realized when the adults left them to bond together. Since Shen was someday going to be the Eye of Twilight and Kennen was being considered to become the Heart of the Tempest, it was better that they became friends now rather than later.

And besides that--it had been far too long since anyone had seen Shen be enthusiastic about anything.

  
  


  
  
  


Kennen handed Shen a towel, unable to restrain himself from hopping up and down as his friend wiped the sweat from his face. “That was so cool, Shen! You’re like a brick wall! You never flinched that whole match!”

Shen said nothing, blue eyes flicking towards his opponent as he approached. “You’re the new student, right?” The other child looked about Shen’s age, though maybe slightly larger in stature. Kennen nodded and the boy bowed. “I’m Zed. An honor.”

“I’m Kennen, and--you were really good too! I was almost sure you two were going to kill each other for awhile there.” Zed laughed, a deep sound that sent chills down Kennen’s spine for reasons he couldn’t quite process.

Still, Shen handed Zed the towel, and he wiped the sweat from his face as well, draping the towel over his shoulder when he was done. “If we could have, we probably would have by now.” He flashed a grin to Shen, who simply blinked back. “We’re too evenly matched. I don’t think we’ve ever had a match that didn’t end in a draw. Have we, Shen?”

“We haven’t,” Shen said simply, taking the towel from Zed, who responded with a chuckle at the motion. “You’re very skilled, Zed. I look forward to the day one of us bests the other.”

Dark brown eyes met piercing blue, and neither of the boys moved for a moment. Zed grinned wide enough to bare his teeth. “I look forward to it as well, Shen.”

Kennen thought Zed was going to eat Shen alive.

  
  
  
  
  


“ _ **SHEN!**_ ”

Shen seemed to snap out of his stupor, just in time to stop Zed from knocking off his head. Dark laughter rang through the air, and Kennen had never so clearly understood why Zed had always _terrified_ him.

“You should have let it end there, Shen. Don’t worry, you’ll join your foolish father in the afterlife soon enough!”

Before Zed could take another step, Kennen forced himself between the two in a burst of lightning he’d hardly realized he’d created. He kept his eyes trained on Zed, but couldn’t help himself from glancing over his shoulder to his friend. “Shen…” Kennen paused. “No, Master--are you alright?”

Shen’s eyes were as stoic and imperceptive as ever, bet Kennen had known him long enough to know better. Zed had as well.

“He is no master. He never really wanted to be. Did you, Shen?”

Silence. For a moment, the world stopped.

“You’ve always been a bad liar, Shen.”

Kennen saw Akali appear behind Zed and threw a kunai just as she moved in to strike, but Zed quickly dodged both before disappearing into the shadows. Kennen could see the frustration in Akali’s eyes, but she did not move to pursue him. “Shen, we’ve got to get out of here right now. There’s no way we can take them, we’ve been fighting off everyone we can but they just keep coming--”

“What about the children? And the elders?” Kennen tried to keep his voice even to mask his frantic concern, but couldn’t steady himself. These were the people who had taken him in when he had been shunned by others, who had raised him into the powerful ninja he was now--Kennen could only fear the worst.

Akali couldn’t meet Kennen’s gaze, instead looking away before solemnly shaking her head.

Kennen clenched his hands into fists before taking a deep breath and turning to their leader. “Shen...what are we going to do?”

Shen looked to his two companions, steady gaze betrayed by the fact that he was shaking ever so slightly. “Save everyone we can. Akali, do what you can to hold off the forces while we evacuate everyone who needs help. Kennen, lead the way--it doesn’t matter where we go, so long as we get out and away from here.”

Akali nodded, giving a quick bow before disappearing. Kennen readied himself to leave, but paused, peering over to his friend with worried eyes. “Are you--?”

“I’m fine,” Shen replied far too quickly to be believable. Kennen understood and didn’t press further. “Focus on the task ahead. We’ll discuss later what needs to be done.”

Kennen wanted to stay and comfort him, wanted so much to tell Shen that it would all be alright and that they’d get through this, somehow--that somehow they would make all this right, no matter what. But there was no time.

Instead, Kennen gave a small nod, and with a bow, he disappeared.

Shen was not the only one who needed him.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for the comments and nice feedback! Next chapter is gonna be Akali focused, and then after that, probably all four in childhood, mixed with going forward in the future.


	3. me and you

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They've been different since they got back. Akali doesn't understand what's between them.

“You’ve changed.”

Shen didn’t look to her, simply gazed out at the river from where he sat. “Do you believe so?”

“You and Zed both,” Akali said sourly, keeping her gaze focused on Shen from across the table. “We heard that you caught the Golden Demon, but none of the details.”

“We did.”

“You were all gone for so long, Shen! Yet none of you will talk about your journey. Not even the Master.”

“There is nothing to discuss,” he said plainly, ignoring Akali’s groan in frustration as he lifted his cup of tea. “We did what we sought to do. There is nothing more to it than that.”

Shen made sure not to show the relief he felt when Akali finally resigned, slumping against the table to follow Shen’s gaze out to the river and leave the conversation to rest. When they had arrived back home they were met with warm welcomes, but Shen had never felt colder. Nobody could understand what they had gone through, what they had seen...there was no point in discussing it, but still, it left a certain loneliness in Shen’s heart.

“Zed seems even more restless than before.”

That caught Shen’s attention, and he turned his head before he could stop himself. Akali’s lip twitched, trying not to show the pride in her small victory. Shen frowned and shook his head. “Zed has always been restless. It’s your imagination.”

“I don’t imagine things, Shen. And I know you’ve noticed it too.”

Zed was absolutely the last person Shen wanted to talk to about the whole matter. Every time they passed each other he was met with accusatory glances and bitter looks. Not that Shen didn’t deserve it--he had agreed with Zed, but didn’t stand up for him against the Master’s decision. He tried to have faith in his father, but the whole matter still sat wrong with him, and he knew it was eating at Zed even more so.

“Zed will get over it,” was all Shen could find to say in response, looking down to his tea. Akali gave him a doubtful look, but said nothing, looking back over to the courtyard.

Honestly, Shen doubted it too.  
  
  


Shen was the last to meet back up with the survivors.

Kennen let out a heavy sigh of relief, not managing to resist the urge to hug him. Shen weakly hugged back as he looked to Akali. “Is everyone...are the survivors alright?”

Akali looked to the people who made it out with them. Only two dozen or so managed to get out, and most of them were heavily wounded. She turned back to Shen and shook her head, keeping her eyes down. “We’re going to need to go somewhere we can get medical attention. On top of that, we’re not sure if Zed’s men are still pursuing us or just letting us go for now. They’re slippery, they--”

“Hide in the shadows,” Shen finished, pulling away from Kennen. “So can we. Anyone who’s not able to fight should go to the nearest town to seek doctors. The rest of us will seek somewhere we can stay and defend ourselves. If Zed chooses to pursue, he’ll follow us.”

 _He’ll follow_ **_you,_ ** went unspoken from Akali. She didn’t have to tell him--Shen already knew.  
  
  


“He got away, sir.”

Zed’s hand twitched, and the urge to whip around and kill the messenger was almost too strong for a moment. But he resisted, letting out the breath he’d been holding and uncurling his fist. “No matter. Hold off for now.

“There is nowhere he can hide from me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is also on the list of fics I suddenly wanted to start writing again. Cheers!


End file.
